10 Ottawa residents explain how they think about voting
Article content
Over the course of the campaign, the Citizen's Bruce Deachman asked 10 Ottawa-area residents how they approach elections and voting. Their responses were both varied and insightful. Take a look:
Article content
Article content
Article content
For Brad Fisher of Sandy Hill, it's about saving the country from Donald Trump. Fisher is a regular voter who doesn't necessarily favour the same party each election. But this time, he's definitely focused on how events in the U.S. could affect Canada. 'As one of my colleagues said, if we don't have a country, then it really doesn't matter after that,' he told the Citizen.
Article content
Article content
Article content
'Young voters don't have any idea how fragile democracy is,' says Vicky Assad of Kanata. 'There's a level of apathy that I don't understand, and that's really what my message is.' She urges everyone to cast a ballot.
Article content
Article content
Twenty-one-year-old uOttawa student Brendan Saunders says so many issues and discussions are highly politicized these day: 'No one is actually advocating for just genuine civic engagement.' Social media is one culprit, and it's turning off young people from getting involved in elections, he says.
Article content
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
CTV National News: Reports of a framework of an economic and security deal with U.S.
Watch Vassy Kapelos says the big sticking point for Canada for a possible economic and security deal with the U.S. is the removal of tariffs.
CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
Ottawa city council throws support behind rural battery energy storage facility
Ottawa city council overturned a unanimous rejection of a municipal support resolution (MSR) for a controversial battery energy storage system (BESS) in the South March area. Last week, the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee voted unanimously to recommend council reject the support resolution for the Evolugen project on Marchurst Road following a marathon meeting that heard from dozens of public delegations opposed to building the project in that location. Issues such as the ability for emergency services to reach the site in the event of a fire, how to evacuate nearby residents, and concerns about possible contamination to the local water table were raised. On Wednesday, however, city councillors voted overwhelmingly in favour of granting the municipal support resolution, following a motion by Kanata North Coun. Cathy Curry, seconded by Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard. Councillors voted 20 to 3 in favour of granting the municipal support resolution. The only councillors who voted against were Wilson Lo, David Brown, and Clarke Kelly. Coun. Tim Tierney was not present for the vote. The project was initially pitched for Fitzroy Harbour, but council denied its support. It was later moved 13 kilometres away to the South March area. Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) granted Evolugen, a Gatineau-based company, a contract to build the facility, but according to Curry's motion, the company must provide proof of municipal support to the IESO before Jan. 26, 2026, in order for the project to proceed. The motion notes that a municipal support resolution is 'not a planning approval, and if approved would not commit Council to any future land use decisions with respect to the facility.' Curry said the BESS project would make the city's grid greener and provide economic benefits to Ottawa. 'Energy is the new gold,' she said, noting that demands on the electrical grid will come from a variety of sources, including the expansion of LRT and the electrification of OC Transpo's bus fleet and of City of Ottawa vehicles. The motion also notes that the Province of Ontario, the IESO, and local hydro utilities 'have recognized and affirmed the critical role that battery energy storage systems will play in ensuring energy certainty and reliability as electricity demands in the Ottawa Region will continue to exponentially grow over the next twenty years.' West Carleton-March Coun. Clarke Kelly, in whose ward the facility would be built, said the voices of Ottawa's rural residents are being ignored. 'The community most impacted by this installation has reached out in overwhelming numbers to demonstrate they remain uncomfortable with what is being proposed and where it is being proposed,' he said. 'My community is not a bunch of NIMBYs or rural residents who are resistant to change. We understand that for a multitude of reasons, we must diversify our sources of energy and strengthen our grid with technologies such as battery energy storage.' Kelly said while residents had concerns about the proposal, they were not opposed to the facility itself. 'I will never accept that what has occurred here over the last two weeks was in any way appropriate or acceptable,' he said. 'When we talked at the first rural summit in 16 years about making sure that rural voices were heard, this is exactly what we were talking about. If West Carleton was its own municipality, this project would not get an MSR for this location.' As part of the process, council approved a direction to staff to ensure that Evolugen establish a 'Community Development Fund' by entering into a host municipality responsibility agreement with the City of Ottawa, through which it would provide an amount of at least $250,000 per year if the project proceeds. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe told reporters the city is under pressure from the provincial government to approve projects like this. 'The provincial government provides the opportunity for a municipal support resolution but the provincial government also makes it clear that it wants to see these kinds of projects go ahead, so it puts us in an uncomfortable position of having to be a part of a process over which we don't have the ultimate jurisdiction and maybe in long run, it would be better if these decisions were made at the provincial level,' he said. 'Having said all that, this is neither the beginning nor the end of the process. Going forward there will be more hurdles that will need to be crossed before this goes ahead and there will be public consultation as well.' If all regulatory approvals go forward, completion of the site is expected by 2027. Evolugen's website says the facility will provide benefits to the community, including grants for local organizations, job opportunities for residents, and reduced energy costs.
National Post
4 hours ago
- National Post
Liberals reject Bloc proposal to split Bill C-5 to speed 'consensual' lifting of internal trade barriers
OTTAWA — Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon rejected the Bloc Québécois' proposal to split Bill C-5 in two parts, so that the sections on lifting internal trade barriers and the fast-tracking of major projects can be studied separately. Article content Bloc House Leader Christine Normandin said earlier this week it made little sense that the bill, in its current form, would be sent to the House of Commons committee on transport as it falls under the mandate of Minister of Transport and Internal Trade Chrystia Freeland. Article content Normandin instead suggested dividing the bill to study the portions on free trade and labour mobility in one committee and the fast-tracking of major projects in the national interest in another. She said the free trade portion is 'rather consensual' and could go 'a bit faster,' whereas the major projects portion would warrant more scrutiny. Article content Article content 'This is a bill that responds to economic conditions caused by the tariff war, among other things, and mobilizes premiers, mobilizes Canadians from coast to coast to coast behind projects of national significance,' he said. Article content 'These projects have a certain urgency, as do interprovincial trade barriers that must fall,' he added. 'This is a very comprehensive bill. We understand that it's going to be debated, but it's something that we solicited and secured a mandate for.' Article content Prime Minister Mark Carney said his intention is to see the bill passed before June 20, when the House of Commons rises and MPs return to their ridings for the summer. Article content Article content 'It is a top priority for this government, and we will do everything to get it passed before the summer,' he said after C-5 was tabled on Friday. 'And if Parliament needs to sit longer, it should sit longer in order to get it passed. That's what Canadians expect.' Article content Article content MacKinnon said to date there is no consensus from other parties to sit into the summer. Article content The part of the bill on lifting internal trade barriers would allow a good or service that meets provincial or territorial rules to have met federal requirements but also make it easier for workers to get a federal licence by recognizing provincial or territorial work authorizations. Article content The second part, which is a bit more contentious, seeks to get projects deemed in the national interest — such as highways, pipelines, mines and nuclear facilities — built faster by having only one environmental assessment done and respecting federal conditions.
